Silversea’s Silver
Wind in European waters
European incentive
programs are a popular reward: According to
M&C’s 2007 Global Planner Survey, 32 percent of
U.S.-based planners’ firms will hold programs there in 2007, and 42
percent will do so next year. However, a growing number of groups
are viewing the continent from a ship’s deck, rather than from on
land.
Cruise lines such as Celebrity Cruises,
Norwegian Cruise Line, Sea Dream Yacht Club and Silversea Cruises
report increased incentive business in European waters in the past
few years, as have a number of incentive firms. Sandy Cutrone,
president of European Connection, a meeting and incentive firm
based in Roslyn, N.Y., said the reasons for this are that cruises
are easier to operate, fewer on-site staff are needed, and cruise
lines’ rates are in U.S. dollars and, at the same time, “very
negotiable.”
Nancy Larsen, a senior buyer at
Minneapolis-based incentive firm Carlson Mar-keting, also has seen
a marked interest. “The number of clients choosing European cruises
is growing and will continue to grow as more ships move to the
Mediterranean and other European destination,” she said.
Traditional destinations and hotels on
dry land have noted the trend. According to Cindy Hoddeson,
director, meeting and incentive sales, at the Monaco Government
Tourist Office in New York City, the cruises have become a real
competitor to land-based destinations in Europe. And buyers are
benefitting from the increased competition: Some European hotels
(London and Mon-aco properties, among them) are offering incentive
groups guaranteed rates, often in U.S. dollars.